I am in the market for my first rig. I have decided on a Javelin container, cypress II, and a PD reserve but can't decide between a silhouette or a saber II. What are the major differences between the two? I have heard that the openings on the saber are not very consistent or on heading. If anyone could give me some suggestions I would greatly appreciate it.

From experience, use PDs demo program and jump the size of canopy you want to buy. Nothing worse than buying a canopy to find out you didn't think it was going to be like "that". They are cheap to demo and will save you headaches down the road on not buying the right one the first time.

Are you unusualyl small or large? If you're closer to an average size, look into a used rig. For literlly half the money (or less) you can get a good rig to start off with.

Being your first rig, you don't really know much about what you want from practical experience. You may find in 100 jumps that you really want something different than you bought, and if you buy new, you'll lose thousands of dollars on the resale. If you buy used, you can sell it 100 jumps later and only lose $100 or $200 on the whole deal.

During your first 100 jumps with your own rig, you'll learn a lot, you'll be able to demo canopies and borrw rigs from other jumpers to try a wide variety of gear. By the time you're done, you'll know 100x more about gear than you do now and will be better able to make a good choice about what you really want. If you can buy a new rig you can keep for years, in that case it will be worth it, but how do you know now what you're going to want in three years?

Also, new main canopies are VERY hard to pack. I'm not kidding when I say that a canopy with 0 jumps is probably twice as hard to pack as a canopy with 500 jumps. Literally twice as a hard.

On the CypresII, but that new. They last for 12 years, and you can switch it from rig to rig as you buy and sell different rigs. All of the rigs will take the Cypres, so just buy that new and keep for the next 12 years.

Ask your instructors and rigger to help you find a good 'starter rig'. Look for something inexpensive, and spend the savings on more jumps or a canopy control course, those things will serve you much better than a pretty, fancy new rig. Keep in mind that any used gear you buy will need to be inspected by your rigger, and if it passes his inspection, it's going to be just as 'safe' as a new rig.